Computer hacker plants porno on Air Force Web page

Military Web sites temporarily shut down

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A hacker pulled a prank on the U.S. Air
Force Sunday, sneaking onto its Web site and replacing a page
of aviation statistics with a pornographic picture.

As a result, the Pentagon's "DefenseLINK" Web site, which
includes about 80 home pages, was shut down for more than 24
hours while officials ensured there were no other security
breaches .

The hackers apparently were able to wipe out one of the Air
Force's pages and set up a dummy page at the Web site
address. (http://www.af.mil).

Instead of containing facts and figures on fighter jets and
force strength, the page showed a photo of a man and two
women involved in a sex act.

The Air Force said that the scene was put on the Net
about 5 a.m. EST Sunday and removed by 11 a.m. All Defense
Department Web sites were taken off line for about 24 hours
while the Pentagon checked their systems for other lapses in
security.

Air Force officials were apparently made aware of the
intrusion by members of the news media who had received
anonymous phone calls drawing their attention to the
pornography.

Capt. Terry Bowman, said, "We take all attempts by computer
vandals very seriously."

Bowman, who is the head of the Air Force's office of
Technology Integration, said, "We continually review our
security procedures to maintain the integrity of the
information on our site."